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NCAAF Picks

Top Week 13 College Football Picks for Saturday Evening

The college football season advances into week 13, and that only means the finality of the season is at hand. For most teams, this is the end of the regular season. Teams are trying to get bowl bids or division championships or winning records or various other milestones.

Connecticut Huskies vs. Temple Owls
Odds: Temple -13
This is a game in which the Owls are very likely to win, but are they going to cover? Connecticut just got finished with a big upset of Houston. The Huskies have been a legitimate threat in the American Athletic Conference this season. They have not been a pushover at all, and they consistently play great defense under head coach Bob Diaco. Temple has an even better defense than Connecticut does, but the Owls’ offense could certainly be contained by the Connecticut defense. This is a game between two teams that play similar styles, with very physical defense and smashmouth offenses. That style of play lends itself to a low-scoring game, and a low-scoring game is conducive to a smaller point spread, at least if the underdog has a defense good enough to limit the favored team’s offense. Connecticut seems to have that kind of defense. Take the Huskies plus the points here on the college football odds.

Texas A&M Aggies vs. LSU Tigers
Odds: LSU -5.5
The key point to make here is that while LSU is in shambles, Texas A&M is in far worse shape. LSU is a team that started strong but played a so-so schedule with a lot of teams that weren’t as good as advertised before the regular season began. As soon as the schedule got tougher, LSU started losing. The schedule has been very difficult for the Tigers, but now they get one of the weaker teams in the SEC. Few teams have been less threatening on offense or less successful on a general basis in the SEC West than the Aggies, which have not been able to improve under current head coach Kevin Sumlin, who seemed headed for such great success a few years ago. LSU might not be a very good team right now, but games and betting situations depend not just on the condition of one team, but on how one team matches up with another. LSU should be able to dominate this matchup and cover the spread, which is actually surprisingly small.

Florida State Seminoles vs. Florida Gators
Odds: Florida State -2.5
It’s a matchup of two in-state rivals, but this game has taken on a different feel over the past couple of weeks. It did seem in early November that Florida was going to be the favorite in this game, but the Gators’ offense has regressed a lot in recent weeks, such that it’s hard to see how Florida can score enough to win this game. Florida State’s defense is the strength of the Seminole team, and as long as Florida State avoids committing turnovers, it should be able to win a game based on field position and the quality of running back Dalvin Cook, a Heisman Trophy candidate. Take the Seminoles with your college football picks.